Study shows more Massachusetts residents gambled in 2011

Massachusetts residents for the first time spent more money at Rhode Island’s two slot parlors than Rhode Islanders did themselves in 2011, according to a new study released Wednesday.

Grant Welker

Massachusetts residents for the first time spent more money at Rhode Island’s two slot parlors than Rhode Islanders did themselves in 2011, according to a new study released Wednesday.

The study, by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s Center for Policy Analysis, also found that Massachusetts gamblers spent 6 percent more at casinos and slot parlors in New England last year than they did the prior year — nearly $908 million. Of that, $624 million was spent at Connecticut’s Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos.

Gamblers from the Bay State made up a significant amount of visitors at both Rhode Island facilities — 51 percent at Twin River and 43 percent at Newport. At Foxwoods, Massachusetts residents made up 32 percent of visitors, trailing Connecticut at just more than 35 percent. At Foxwoods, 20 percent of visitors are from Massachusetts, compared with 54 percent from Connecticut.

The increase in gambling by Massachusetts residents occurred during a year when the state Legislature approved three resort casinos and a slot parlor in the state.

Spending on gambling is “slowly recovering,” said Clyde Barrow, the director of the Center for Policy Analysis, “particularly among the residents of states with unemployment rates below the national average. With unemployment continuing to decline, private payrolls growing, and home prices stabilizing, it is likely that 2012 will mark the beginning of a recovery in the region’s gaming market.”